Defending champ Campbell catches fire at HK Open

New Zealand golfer Ben Campbell on Friday shot a five-under 65 to surge to the top of the leaderboard at the Hong Kong Open, putting the defending champion one shot ahead of Thailand's Nitithorn Thippong as the competition entered the halfway mark.It was a dominant display for Campbell, 33, who took advantage of his familiarity with the course in Fanling to outperform his group comprising South Korean phenom Tom Kim and American Peter Uihlein under sunny and bright conditions, a far-cry from Thursday's wet weather.Campbell had a two-day total of 12-under 128, overtaking opening round leader Nitithorn.Three others – Australian Kevin Yuan, Kazuki Higa of Japan and Yongjun Bae of South Korea, who had the day's best score of 62 – were tied for third at 9-under.Local sensation Taichi Kho moved up the leaderboard in his bid to become the first player from the SAR to capture the Hong Kong Open.The Hong Kong, China star had another solid outing with a round of five-under 65.Kho and four others were tied for sixth at eight under at the end of round two, four shots behind Campbell.Kim and Uihlein, meanwhile, were among those missing the cut."Today gave me a lot of confidence and proved what I was doing was working," Campbell told reporters after his strong performance."I think being out on LIV as a reserve this year really helped."Being around some of the best players in the world, seeing what they do, allowed me to back up the things I've learned from the team around me."Campbell also spoke about what it meant to be competing in the SAR again, as he looks to defend his title and add a second Asian Tour title to his resume."I've found a swing that my body seems to like a lot more," he said "Winning here last year was massive. It's always nice to come back to a golf course you really like and feel comfortable on, so it's definitely great to be back here again."

New Zealand golfer Ben Campbell on Friday shot a five-under 65 to surge to the top of the leaderboard at the Hong Kong Open, putting the defending champion one shot ahead of Thailand's Nitithorn Thippong as the competition entered the halfway mark. It was a dominant display for Campbell, 33, who took advantage of his familiarity with the course in Fanling to outperform his group comprising South Korean phenom Tom Kim and American Peter Uihlein under sunny and bright conditions, a far-cry from Thursday's wet weather. Campbell had a two-day total of 12-under 128, overtaking opening round leader Nitithorn.

Three others – Australian Kevin Yuan, Kazuki Higa of Japan and Yongjun Bae of South Korea, who had the day's best score of 62 – were tied for third at 9-under. Local sensation Taichi Kho moved up the leaderboard in his bid to become the first player from the SAR to capture the Hong Kong Open. The Hong Kong, China star had another solid outing with a round of five-under 65.

Kho and four others were tied for sixth at eight under at the end of round two, four shots behind Campbell. Kim and Uihlein, meanwhile, were among those missing the cut. "Today gave me a lot of confidence and proved what I was doing was working," Campbell told reporters after his strong performance.

"I think being out on LIV as a reserve this year really helped. "Being around some of the best players in the world, seeing what they do, allowed me to back up the things I've learned from the team around me." Campbell also spoke about what it meant to be competing in the SAR again, as he looks to defend his title and add a second Asian Tour title to his resume.

"I've found a swing that my body seems to like a lot more," he said "Winning here last year was massive. It's always nice to come back to a golf course you really like and feel comfortable on, so it's definitely great to be back here again.".